Family Favoritism - The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional

Family Favoritism

God does not show favoritism.

Romans 2:11

HOW CAN WE LEAVE PARENTS after we’re married and at the same time honor them? This can get sticky because, of course, two sets of parents are generally involved in a couple’s life. Issues can particularly arise during the holidays. Perhaps the wife’s mother wants the couple home for Christmas Eve, and the husband’s mother wants them home for Christmas dinner. That may be possible if the two families live in the same town, but not if they live five hundred miles apart.

The guiding principle must be equality. Romans 2:11 says, “God does not show favoritism.” In this particular passage, the apostle Paul is reminding his readers that God makes no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers, but God’s lack of favoritism certainly extends to other groups as well. He is our model. We must seek to treat both sets of in-laws with equality. This may mean Christmas here this year and Christmas there next year, or Christmas with one family and Thanksgiving with the other. The same principle applies to phone calls, e-mails, visits, dinners, and vacations.

You are not responsible for your parents’ happiness; that will be determined by their own attitude. You are simply seeking to show equal honor and respect for them. Having done so, you have followed the biblical injunction: Honor your father and your mother.

Father, thank you for not showing favoritism. You welcome everyone who turns to you. Help me to treat my parents and my in-laws with equal honor and respect, and to make sure my spouse and I are fair in the way we spend our time. Please give us grace as we discuss these issues.

Parents